The day started with a record crowd gathering in the dark at Ulladulla’s Kendall Cottage to participate in a moving Anzac Day dawn service.

Crowds started streaming to the memorial park well before the 6am start, with an estimated 800 people taking part.

They watched an array of wreaths being laid, before an address by the Royal Australian Navy’s Commodore Charles McHardie, speaking of the way Australia’s military history had shaped the national spirit.

In the lead up to the service the sound of bagpipes cut through the morning chill, but later it was the Last Post that weaved a haunting web of sound over the gathering.

A few hours later hundreds more gathered at the Milton Ulladulla ExServos Club for another memorial service.